So in honor of Thanksgiving, I think it only appropriate that a lesson on being thankful is in order.  Having thought about this, for, oh a little over a minute, it became apparent that it is a recipe.

The ingredients for being thankful are thankfully, no pun intended, well maybe, completely organic.  This should make vegetarians and purists at least willing to listen.

The first ingredient, is family.  This could be children of the human variety or even those of the animal kingdom.  Its really not necessary to have one or the other and in fact a dash of each works quite well.  After all, what well heeled child hasn’t uttered those infamous words on being told they were going to get a sibling, “but I wanted a puppy”.  A healthy mixture of children and pets seem to make the flavor come out in this “thankful casserole”.

The next ingredient is a careful dash of adventure.  Think of the adventure as the spice in the recipe.  A little surprise now and then, accepted courageously, flavors the casserole.  Now you do need to be a little cautious with the adventure ingredient as some of the partakers in the feast may be sensitive to too much spice.  But when the adventure ingredient is added gingerly, the result is a lot more flavor to be thankful for in the casserole.

Next we will prepare the casserole dish.  You will make the batter from a year’s worth of memories mixed in with a pinch of hopefulness.  While the memories will give the batter strength, the hopes will give it consistency.  Once properly mixed, spread this batter out smoothly across the bottom of our casserole dish being sure to cover it completely.

After stirring  together the family and adventure ingredients, pour them gently into the casserole dish forming a thick coating over the memory and hope batter.

One last step before baking, we need to spread a rich gravy of good health over the top of the casserole.  Though the dish can be made without this gravy, the health ingredient adds the richness to the flavor.  It is important for the chef to take care of this ingredient all through the year so that it has aged and is ready to be added to our thankful casserole.

You are now ready for the oven.  Gently heat the casserole at 98.6 degrees for the entire Thanksgiving Day while family and friends prepare the table.  When ready, serve up liberal portions to all  with whom you would share this dish.  The best news, when prepared properly, this dish will never run out.

Happy Thanksgiving